On Sunday 5th May Ross Ladies A team, under a beautiful spring sky, walked towards their new empire, the brand new purple and green of courts 1 & 2, to go to battle against Bromsgrove B team. Val Davies and Brenda Saunders commanded the team as first pair and took on the might of their opposite numbers to start with. The force was with them as they took the first set 6:4. Heading into the second set they were wielding their rackets like light sabers, driving forehands, popping volleys away and throwing in the odd drop shot too, making light work of the set, taking it 6:2. Full of confidence they then took on the mother and daughter second pairing, continuing with their previous form, they went on to give a master class taking the match 6:4, 6:0.
Sarah Drake and Jane Pepperell, playing as second pair, started against Bromsgrove's third pair. After a great start, taking the first set 6:1, the second set turned into a tussle for power, our two worked hard, but lost the second set in the tie break. Going into the third set, they were full of hope and drew on all their knowledge and skills to eventually strike back and take the third set 7:6. Moving on to play the oppositions first pair where they got off the a good start by shooting ahead in the first set, they unfortunately lost it 3:6. Realising they needed help, their only hope was to force themselves to up their game, increase their energy levels and use their power to get into a winning position by focusing solely on the task in hand, which they did gong onto take the second set in the tie break. With a thrilling third set underway, the crowd was wondering which pairing would be the star of this particular war. With Plan B, to make every point, working on the Ross side they took the deciding set 7:5.
Sandy Foulkes and Ginny Higgins playing as third couple, got off to a storming start against Bromsgroves second pairing. They threw back a parry of destroyer shots against the second pairing with a vengeance, taking the first set 6:3. They came out strong in the second set, returning serves with power, attacking the short balls and menacing at the net, making short work of the set taking it 6:1. Their last match, against their own number was a harder contest. They were defeated 5:7 in the first set but managed to summon their courage, with Sandy's hands so low on her double handed shots and Ginny's invading shots took the second set 6:2 and flew into the third set which had a thrilling 7:6 for the Ross pair.
The teams enjoyed a delicious late lunch and jabber in the hut. An impressive start to the summer season for Ross Ladies A team 6:0.